As cabinet elections approach for Central Michigan University's Student Government Association, so do the deadlines for applying and running for office.

Ryan Varner is the Interfraternity Council liaison and a member of SGA's elections committee. At the SGA meeting on Feb. 26, he gave an update on candidates.

Varner said that 12 students expressed interest in being in the 2024 election, and all of them have made it to the next step in the process.

"This week, they need support from their fellow students," he said. "They need to gather signatures to allow them to be on the ballot."

Varner said that different roles have different signature requirements. The requirements for each position are as follows:

President and Vice President: 200 signatures
Treasurer: 100 signatures
Associate Justices: 100 signatures
Senators: 75 signatures

Varner said the signature form for these students can be found on the SGA Engage page, and that the form will close at 5 p.m on March 1.

Residence Life survey launching soon

Residence Life is launching its annual Student Satisfaction Survey on Feb. 29 for all on-campus residents.

Audrey Elworth, the assistant director of Residence Life, announced the survey's launch at the SGA meeting. She said the form would be open from Feb. 29 to March 29. The purpose of the form is for students to share their opinions and experience living on campus.

"It's really to give us some feedback on how we're doing," she said.

Elworth encouraged students to fill out the form so that Residence Life can know where to improve on-campus housing. She said that in the past, the form has helped Residence Life shape policies such as indoor accessibility and quiet hours.

She said the form would be emailed to all on-campus resident students, and each student will get an individual link to follow. She said it is important for students to use the individual link provided, as it is tied directly to their student account.

Elworth also said that everyone who completes the survey through their individual link has a chance to win a $25 FLEX prize, CMU's on-campus money for food expenditures. There will be 12 possible winners. The first drawing for this would be on Friday, and winners will be contacted via email.

"If you do your survey in the first 24 hours, you'll have a higher chance of getting pulled," she said. "I look forward to seeing your responses."

In other events:

The Governmental Affairs Committee is planning an event called "Make Your Mark: Your Vote, Your Future." The event focuses on educating students on what voting is, how to vote and the impact it has on the government. The committee is partnering with Central Votes to create the event. They are currently aiming to have the event at 2 to 4 p.m on March 22, but a location has not been secured at this time. More details are to be released after spring break.
SGA Vice President Ryan Biller said that Tyson Dubay, the resident district manager for campus dining, is looking to establish a student dining committee. He said anyone interested in being a part of the committee should contact him via email.
Application for funding through the Student Budget Allocation Committee will be closing at 11:59 p.m on March 25. Biller said any registered student organizations looking to fund an event or trip should submit funding applications to the committee before then.
Senators are currently focusing on individual projects, such as Madison Gott's 5K Run to raise money for Indigenous organizations and Claire Deblanc's legislation to reduce tuition spending on "swag" items, or disposable trinkets given at events.